A passenger breached security at John F. Kennedy International Airport and boarded a plane to Albany, causing terminals to be evacuated and passengers to be re-screened, the federal Transportation Security Administration said.
The passenger walked up an exit lane past a private security guard at terminal two at about 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, the TSA said.
The guard could not immediately locate the passenger and notified the TSA of the security breach, sparking a wide search for the man at terminals two and three, the federal agency said.
"He was going through the exit lane. That's going the wrong way," TSA spokesman Norm Brewer said. "As I understand it, he was challenged and stopped. And then what happened, I do not know. He at some point ended up beyond that exit approach and the rest is sort of history."
The passenger was later suspected of being onboard a Delta Air Lines flight to Albany, where he disembarked and was detained by the county sheriff's department Tuesday night, the TSA said. The man, who was being questioned by local and federal authorities, has not been identified.
The Albany Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to a call early Wednesday.
The TSA said in a statement on its Web site that "there is no known nexus to terrorism at this time."
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, did not immediately return a call.
Aviation Safeguards, a division of Command Security Corporation, operates private security at JFK airport, Brewer said.
Calls early Wednesday to both entities, as well as Delta Air Lines, were not immediately returned.
The Associated Press
Passenger breaches security at JFK airport, boards plane